Air pollution can harm the cardiovascular health of young people, researchers at National Taiwan University Hospital said yesterday as they presented their latest study.
The study — which involved 755 Taiwanese aged 21 years on average — revealed a link between exposure to airborne pollutants and the thickening of the carotid arteries’ inner walls, the research team told a news conference in Taipei.
This thickening of arterial walls is correlated with increased risk of heart attack later in life, said Su Ta-chen (蘇大成), director of the hospital’s oDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Medicine.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Airborne particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers carries many substances released by internal combustion engines, including zinc, copper, iron and sulfur, which could cause the thickening, he said.
Butadiene — another air pollutant common in cities — is a volatile organic compound that can thicken carotid walls, harden blood vessels, increase cholesterol levels and damage the DNA within cells, he said, adding that this substance is released by vehicle engines and tires.
“Our data — which show that air pollution is increasing health risks for young people — should be viewed as an alarm sign,” he said.
“Young people are like canaries in the coal mine” for the population at large, he added.
Environmental and health authorities should monitor butadiene levels as part of their efforts to rein in harmful pollution in cities, he said.
The research team in an earlier study found that urban air pollution is linked to indicators of poor respiratory health in Taiwanese adults, including inflammation metrics, coagulation factors and arrhythmia, he said.
Hon Hai Precision Industry founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) told the news conference that last year he developed light arrhythmia due to air pollution.
Taiwanese should hold local government heads responsible for air quality in their region in the local elections in November, Gou added.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS